In an effort to adopt an integrated circuit (IC) ticketing system for the MRT system, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp will begin selling IC tokens at four MRT stations starting on Tuesday with the aim of eventually replacing the existing MRT cards.
The tokens with IC cards inside, resemble a NT$50 coin and will be sold at the MRT CKS Memorial Hall, Guting, Jiantan and Taipei City Hall stations starting on Tuesday, and will be rolled out to all other MRT stations by August, the corporation said.
"The magnetic cards are easily worn, whereas the IC tokens can be used more than 30,000 times. Besides, it's hard to forge, and will save passengers time when passing through the gates," said Lee Yuan-hsiang (
The corporation has adopted the tokens in order to operate the new-style Automatic Fare Collection gates that open like a door. The gates were introduced last year to replace the existing turnstile types of gates.
Passengers who purchase the new IC tokens will be required to enter and exit the stations through the new gates, although the existing magnetic cards can still be purchased and used, Lee said.
Meanwhile, Taipei Smart Card Corp said yesterday that the EasyCard, which is currently used in Taipei MRT stations and on buses, could be used on the Taiwan High Speed Rail system within three years.
According to General Manager Jason Lin (
"Using the current EasyCard system could save the corporation the time and money of setting up a new system, and it's convenient for passengers to travel around with only one card," Lin said yesterday at Taipei City Hall.
As the Ministry of Transportation has thrown its support behind the integration of the nation's ticketing systems, Lin said the plan is very likely to be carried out within three years, adding that the company is in discussions with the Taiwan Railway Administration regarding the use of the EasyCard system on their network.
Lin said that Taipei Zoo will allow visitors to use the EasyCard to pay its entrance fee beginning in June.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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